AmjuneU,ri8F78arm*}        Quinia  P  ills  .—P  ill  Excipient.  289 
QUINIA  PILLS. 
Editor  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  : — As  an  addition  to  the  note 
of  Mr.  Brett,  in  the  April  number  of  the  "  Amer.  Jour,  of  Pharmacy, " 
I  send  you  a  precise  formula,  which  has  been  well  known  in  our 
country  for  several  years  : 
R  Chinini  sulfurici,  .  .  .  .      30  00  grams. 
Gum.  arab.  pulv.,   ....  5"oo 
Glycerin  ......  io"oo 
To  the  gum  and  glycerin,  well  triturated  in  a  mortar,  add  gradually 
the  quinia  salt.    The  result  is  an  excellent  and  unalterable  mass. 
Adr.  Nicklcs. 
Benfeld  (Alsace),  April  17,  1878. 
Editor  of  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  : — In  the  April  number  of 
your  valuable  journal  I  have  read  with  pleasure  a  communication  from 
Mr.  James  E.  Brett,  regarding  the  make-up  of  quinia  pills.  And 
while  I  think  the  substances  he  proposed  (powdered  acacia  and 
glycerin)  will  accomplish  satisfactory  results,  still  I  think  if  powdered 
tragacanth  be  substituted  for  the  acacia,  with  the  use  of  glycerin,  less 
difficulty  will  be  experienced  in  making  up  the  pills  ;  they  will  be  of 
whiter  appearance,  and  retain  their  properties  unaltered  for  almost  an 
indefinite  period  of  time.  In  fact,  I  have  found  an  excipient  of  this 
kind  : 
Powdered  tragacanth,  .  .  gii 
"  Glycerin,  .  .  .  q.  s.  to  make  a  thick  paste," 
to  answer  for  making  up  a  larger  number  of  substances,  in  pill  form, 
better  than  any  other  I  have  ever  known.  Any  of  the  dry  iron  salts, 
such  as  phosphate,  ferrocyanide,  sulphate  and  citrate,  can,  with  ease, 
be  made  into  pills  by  using  this  excipient  and  a  little  "selbow(  grease." 
T.  A.  Cheatham,  Ph.G. 
Macon,  Ga.,  April  izth,  1878. 
ANOTHER  PILL  EXCIPIENT. 
By  J.  J.  Brown,  Ph.G. 
[Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  May  21,  1878.) 
What  is  the  best  pill  excipient  for  general  purposes  ?  seems  to  be 
almost  an  unanswerable  question.   We  have  found  that  glycerin  lacks 
sufficient  adhesiveness  ;  vegetable  extracts  are  inadmissible  on  account 
of  their  individual  medicinal  properties  ;  syrups  and  solutions  of  acacia 
